John francis o brien



(No-ModeL Q N. SHOB.

Patented NOV. 10, 1891.

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2 66b; azl v M UNITED STATES JOHN FRANCIS OBRIEN,

PATENT OFFICE.

OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

OVERSHOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 462,950, dated November1( 1891..

Application filed February 7, 1891. Renewed October 12, 1891. Serial110,408,407. (No model.) Patented in Canada December 2, 1890, No.35,652.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that I, J OHN FRANCIS OBEIEN, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at Montreal, in the Province of Quebec and Dominion ofCanada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Overshoes,of WllOll the following is a specification.

The invention has been patented by me in Canada under date of December2,1890,bearing No. 85,552. I

My invention is particularly confined to that class of overshoes inwhich the sole only of the front part of the boot or shoe to which it isapplied is to be covered and in which the front part of the sole of theovershoe is provided with a flange adapted to cover the edge of the solein front of the instep and to fit into the rand-seam. Itincludes,however, in addition to this, a heel portion and a special constructionof flange extending from the heel port-ion and connected to therandflange above referred to. The special object of soles of rubber orother water-proof material formed without an upper is to protect thesole of the boot or shoe to which it is applied without covering theupper and with such elastic material, such covering being objectionablefor the reason that it draws upon the foot and also because it mars thepolish of the boot or shoe. I

I-Ieretofore Water-proof soles have been devised for covering only thesole of the boot in front of the instep and having a flange fitted tocover the edge of the sole and to fit into the rand-seam. Such solesleave the other parts of the boot or shoe unprotected, requiring aspecial clamp upon the narrow part of the sole at the instep, and,further, are liable to permit water to enter at the inner end. Rubberovershoes have also been devised having straps covering the front partof the foot ,over the uppers and with heel portions to protect theheels.

The object of my invention is to provide such heel portion in connectionwith a waterproof sole and with a connecting-flange between the heel andthe front part of'the sole, whereby both the heel and the instep areprotected and the sole held firmly to the boot or shoe.

My invention consists, further, of an interior cross-strap for moreclosely binding the sides of the heel portion to the boot or shoe.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in WhichFigure 1 shows the overshoe in place upon the shoe. Fig. 2 shows a sideview of the same; Fig. 3, a plan View.

In the drawings, the sole of the overshoe is indicated at A, and a smallvertical flange a is formed upon the forward part of the sole with itsupper edge extending inwardly. This flange is fitted to cover the edgeof the sole of the boot or shoe on which the overshoe is to be used, theupper inwardly-extending part being formed to fit the rand-seam. Thispart of the flange, which has the inwardlyprojecting upper edge, extendsfrom the point, as y, at the ball of the foot, where the sole is thewidest, around the toe to an opposite point, so that the overshoe can'beslipped onto the boot and be drawn back to bring the edge of the flangeinto the rand-seam. As such overshoes are ordinarily made of elasticmaterial, the edge of the flange will fit snugly into said seam. Thereis no difficulty with this construction in holding the toe in place andretaining it upon the boot on shoe if the sole be held drawn back as bya strap running back over the heel; but to hold the part about the ballin position, and, further, to protect the sole at the instep, requiresspecial construction. The rear part of the sole, as above stated, hasbeen held to the boot or shoe by a metallic clamp; but this is imperfectand troublesome in use and as a matter of course does not protect theinstep. It is also desirable in overshoes to protect the heel, inasmuchas the clothing is liable to transfer the mud and wet to the heel. Ihave sought, therefore, so to connect the heel to the front part of thesole as to cause the heel to hold the front part firmly in place, and atthe same time I have provided protection for the instep of the boot orshoe. Iaccomplish this by continuing the flange a along the sides of theinstep and having its margin in a slightlycurved but an approximatelystraight line from the point y, or thereabout, where the rand-flangeterminates, upwardly to the rear upper portion of the heel. Thus theupper margin of the flange or side of the overshoe in rear of the line yy extends from said line approximately in straight line to the point .2,which is at the middle of the upper portion of the counter of theovershoe. The overshoe at the point z is contractedin the usual manner,so that itbinds closely upon the heel at that point. It therefore drawsupon the edge of the material of the upper or flange in the direction ofthe line y z. This tends to hold up the sides or counter of the heel ofthe overshoe and also to hold up the flangeaand keep its edge in therand-seam, and thus it holds the overshoe in place and covers theinstep, as well as protecting the same.

I have shown the boot to more clearly illustrate the fitting of theparts.

In order to connect more securely the sides of the overshoe at thecounter portions thereof I have applied a flexible strap 0, which isattached, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to the inner faces of the sides ofthe counter a little in advance of the heel and above the sole. This isso proportioned that when the overshoe is in place the sole of the bootpresses it down and causes it to draw the sides of the overshoeinwardly, so as toclamp the foot of the wearer and thus aid in holdingtheovershoe in place.

It will be understood that the overshoe is formed of rubber orcomposition thereof, such as is ordinarily used for .overshoes, but anyequivalent material may be used instead in substantially the same form.

I do not herein broadly claim the combination of a heel in an overshoehaving a randflange on the front part of the sole, that being shown inanother application pending in the United States Patent Otfice, filed onthe 22d of November, 1890, Serial No. 372,318.

I limit my claims herein to the particular construction of the flangeand to the crossstrap.

I claim as my invention-- a 1. In combination with a shoe having a soleand heel portion, a transverse strap connected to the counter on theinside only, slightly above the sole, whereby when in use the strap isdepressed and the sides of the counter drawn in to compress the shoe,substantially as described.

2. In combination with an overshoe having a sole provided with anupwardly and inwardly extending flange adapted to the groove between theupper and the sole, and having also a heel portion, as A, a transversestrap C, connected to the inside of the counter, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN FRANCIS OBRIEN.

Witnesses:

HENRY E. COOPER, JAMES W. SPEAK.

